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The Red Basilica (Kızıl Avlu) is a Roman temple in Bergama, Turkey. It’s included in the UNESCO World Heritage listing for the ancient city of Pergamon.
Visiting the Red Basilica
The Red Basilica is open daily from 8:30am to 7pm. Admission is 60₺ (as of September 2023). It’s a short walk from the foot of the Pergamon Acropolis.
History of the Red Basilica
The Red Basilica was built in the 2nd century, possibly during the reign of Hadrian and under his orders. It may have been used for the worship of the Egyptian gods Isis and Serapis, among others.
The temple is one of the largest surviving Roman structures from the Greek world. The Red Basilica sat in a sacred courtyard 270 meters long by 100 meters wide. It was surrounded by stone walls standing at least 13 meters high.
At some point during the Christian period, the temple was destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt as a Christian church in the 5th century, with the eastern wall demolished and replaced as an apse. The building was converted to a mosque after the Ottomans conquered Pergamon in 1336.
Entrance to the Red Basilica
The temple, today known as the Red Basilica, was entered from the west through a door that stood at least 14 meters high and was seven meters wide. The threshold, which is still in place, weighs 30 tons and is made out of a single slab of marble.
Interior of the Red Basilica
The structure is 60 meters long by 28 meters wide and the highest surviving wall is 19 meters. It was originally covered by a wooden roof and had no interior supports. The walls were built entirely out of red brick and were once covered in marble that has since disappeared.
The original interior of the temple was destroyed when it was converted to a Christian basilica. There are 12 arched niches on the western half, which was the only part of the structure that had windows. The niches are 2.55 meters wide by six meters high and likely held statues of gods.
In the eastern end of the hall was a base for a statue raised 1 ½ meters above the floor. The statue would have been at least ten meters tall. A hole in the base indicates priests may have been able to climb into the statue to make it speak during ceremonies. The eastern end of the hall was probably off-limits to the public and could only be entered by priests and their attendants.
Finally, looking up at the walls of the temple, it’s possible to see traces of the fire that destroyed it during the early Christian period. There are also architectural fragments that seem to be recycled from older buildings as well as original ornamental elements.
Statue of Sekhmet
In the southern courtyard of the Red Basilica is a restored statue of the Egyptian goddess Sekhmet. Fragments of the original statue, which was used as a support for a stoa, were discovered during excavations in the 1930s. It stood 8 ½ meters high. Pieces of the original marble floor, benches, and wall coverings sit nearby and have also been restored.
Rotundas
The Red Basilica is flanked by two domed rotundas at its eastern end. They were likely used for cult functions and were originally clad in marble. Each one stands 18 meters high with a diameter of 12 meters. The doors were originally 11 ½ meters high, and they were lit by an opening in the dome that was originally 3.7 meters wide. The opening was reduced to about one meter in the Ottoman period.
The north rotunda was converted to a mosque and is closed to the public. The south rotunda became an olive oil factory in the 19th century, but it has been restored and is open to the public. Traces of smoke from its days as an olive oil factory can still be seen.
The south wall of the south rotunda opens to a small depot building that holds the finds from the excavations at the Red Basilica and other sites. Some of these finds are on display around the room.
A few of the finds include fragments of figural pillars depicting human faces and animals as well as architectural fragments. During my first visit, slabs with Hebrew and Ottoman inscriptions were being shown.
